What is a Housing Allowance? Perhaps one of the least understood tax benefits, a housing allowance (also called a parsonage allowance or rental allowance) is defined as a designated portion of a minister’s salary that is used toward expenses incurred in providing housing. This portion of the minister’s salary is excludable from gross income for income tax purposes (but should be included in gross income for self-employment tax purposes) and may represent a substantial tax benefit for qualifying clergy based on Section 107 of the Internal Revenue Code.  While simple on its face, it’s impor ..read more

Try Googling your church’s tax issues, and you’ll find lots of misleading information. It’s a unique tax niche. You’ll find confusing and contradictory advice from plenty of unreliable sources. At Ascension CPA, we have heard from pastors and churches who have tried to file their taxes properly, only to discover later that everything was done incorrectly. Sometimes a well-meaning church member or clerk just doesn’t get it right. With this in mind, we’re providing this how-to guide to understanding new tax law changes and how they will affect filing for pastors and clergy. Church Giving May Go ..read more

In our experience as CPAs, we have learned that a lot of churches are not properly managing their payroll taxes. There are churches all over the country that pay payroll taxes for their clergy, which creates confusion and the potential for fines, penalties, or extra expenses, not to mention a tax nightmare for their ministers. For many small churches, in particular, this is not a result of some sort of malfeasance. Rather, volunteer bookkeepers are unaware of the complexities of payroll law when it comes to religious organizations or the nuanced changes that occur from one year to the next.&nb ..read more

Military personnel and their families face unique life challenges with their duties, expenses and transitions. As such, active members of the U.S. Armed Forces should be aware of all the special tax benefits that are available to them. Here are 10 of them: 1. Moving Expenses If you are a member of the Armed Forces on active duty and you move because of a permanent change of station, you may be able to deduct some of your unreimbursed moving expenses. 2. Combat Pay If you serve in a combat zone as an enlisted person or as a warrant officer for any part of a month, military pay you received for ..read more

Tax Return Preparation Discount Card Bring this into our office and receive 50% off the preparation of your 2010 individual income tax return at Sean M. Hugo, CPA, PC. Business Entity Selection Many Firefighters start side businesses to make extra money during their off hours.  If you have started your own side business or are considering starting one you should give some thought to how the business will be structured.  For a listing of the various types of business formations and the pros and cons of each take a look at this document. For most business owners there are two main reas ..read more

 A Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a senior level finance professional who is responsible for your company’s complete financial operations. Their duties include preparing financial statements, developing business strategy and measures, monitoring cash flow and expenses, and providing professional financial advice ..read more

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Digital marketing firm, Bridges, began enjoying success and growth soon after the firm was created. However, their quick growth brought increasingly complicated financials, and they realized they needed outside assistance to get a handle on their books — before it was too late ..read more

It’s a Catch-22. The small business you shed time, sweat and tears over has taken off like a rocket. These should be happy, profitable times.  However, as you struggle to stay abreast of the day-to-day operations, cash flow issues and financial statements, you can’t shake the nagging thought that you could use some expert assistance. And shouldn’t someone be planning for future growth? Someone needs to draw the overall financial picture to allow you to make good decisions to continue growing. For many companies, that someone is a CFO or chief financial officer.  But a full time CFO ..read more